Fear of Elevators
It
used to be that the fear of elevators required the therapist and the
patient to travel to the nearest tall building, spend time in elevators and
eventually ride up and down together. With therapy using Virtual Reality
Exposure help is found in the therapist's office, eliminating the need for
travel to find an elevator.
Wearing
a headset, you are allowed to enter a computer-generated elevator in a
virtual tall building. Starting out on the ground level looking out onto an
indoor atrium, you move at your own pace to higher and higher levels.
Without ever leaving the ground, you experience the range feelings
associated with an actual elevator. Taking plenty of time and practicing
techniques you have learned for anxiety management, you are led slowly and
comfortably for one level to the next. The goal is for you to be able to
master your anxious feelings throughout the entire experience of riding in
an elevator.
At
every step of the virtual elevator rides, the therapist can see and hear
what you are experiencing. The therapist has control over the exposure, the
virtual ride and the length of the therapy session.
